


Needs Must

by Xiaolxn



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: Enemies to Allies, F/M, Slow Romance, Xiaolin Chronicles - Freeform, Xiaolin Showdown - Freeform, anyone who knows this "ship", because Chase Young, genuinely just a little thing I did, is NOT a romantic character, is another good tag, it has ONE soft kissu at the end, just a little something, knows it's not an incredibly romantic one, short and sweet, soft angst, to keep me sane through quarantine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23906566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xiaolxn/pseuds/Xiaolxn
Summary: Just a short Chase Young/Aeris piece I did a week or so ago to get me through quarantine. This is set just after Hannibal's return from the Ying-Yang realm, when enemies need to become allies to fight against a greater evil, yadda yadda yadda, that old chestnut. :') I joke, the whole "oooh no, a common enemy" arc has always been my favourite trope in any kind of medium, I love watching the goodies and baddies team up. So...I did that for myself. Featuring small kiss at the end because...I have my reasons.
Relationships: Chase Young/Aeris Altair, Chase Young/Original Character, Chase young/oc
Kudos: 1





	Needs Must

“I didn’t expect you so soon.”

“But you _did_ expect me.”

Just as always before, she was neither _incorrect_ nor _ill-advised_ , not quite _precise_ but never once _unsound_. _Age_ came with _piousness_ , after all, alongside _wisdom_ , _irritability_ , and in most cases, _apathy_ ; he himself had fallen to all four of these, but Aeris had yet to succumb to the latter. She still _cared_ , still cared _deeply_ about all manner of things; some were trivial, some not, but the former of the two were hardly of any consequence to him.

What mattered now, unfortunately, was _far_ _from_ _trivial._

He stood as she approached, taking a moment to look her over before descending the few steps from his throne. Blind as she may be, he was well aware that she knew where he was and he acted accordingly, folding his arms as she came to a stop only a few feet from him. Her pale skin had a greyish undertone, dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, and it was obvious to even the untrained eye that she was wracked with a deep-set worry.

Any other day, and it would have warranted a _sarcastic comment._

_But it wasn’t any other day._

“You haven’t been sleeping,” he frowned. “…It’s been a week. Whatever he’s planning, it’s yet to come to fruition.”

“And your plan is to…what?” She frowned, her fingertips playing with a loose thread on the hem of her sleeve. Yet another _tell-tale sign_ that she was truly _unbalanced;_ she _always_ looked _absolutely perfect._ A loose thread, a hair out of place, a scuff on her robes…if you were truly going to have a bad day, those were the three omens you had to look out for with this woman. “Wait until it’s too late? Wait until he’s struck with some ridiculous scheme we didn’t see coming? You know as well as I do, _more_ than I do, that he’s more than adept at playing _the long game_ , Chase. He won’t just have a single plan waiting in the wings. Once he _starts_ , he won’t _stop_ , and I cannot _, in good conscience_ , sit around waiting for the day he decides to _topple_ the first _domino_.”

 _As always,_ words of such _poetry_ and _passion_. He smiled slightly before looking away from her, eyes trained somewhere off to the side before he spoke.

“You really need to stop listening to your _conscience_ , Aeris.” His eyes flickered slightly before he took a step around her, hand glancing off of her shoulder to let her know he was moving. Even after everything that had transpired over their lifetimes, the wedges that had driven them apart, they had always had a _language_ between them; gentle, unspoken, centuries in the making. Aeris’s _condition_ had led to the necessity of its creation, but neither would admit that there was something else behind its continuation, a fact as simple as it was resolute.

Immortals were few and far between in this world, and when one stumbled across another…there was never a bond so unbreakable.

“My conscience has been the only thing keeping us both alive for the past thousand years, Chase,” she frowned, turning on the spot to follow in the direction he had walked. He slowed for a brief second to allow her to fall into step alongside him, both walking together in what, to the untrained eye, would be nothing more than an amicable stroll. But those who knew better would be able to sense the undercurrent of unease, the slight spice of danger in the air. Of all the confrontations these two had had over the years, it was rarer than a blue moon that they be physically violent.

Chase Young wasn’t above violence by any means, but perhaps he was above violence when it came to her.

“You give yourself too much credit,” he smirked, holding his arm up; almost on cue, her delicate little fingers wrapped around it, allowing him to guide her as they walked through their bizarre surroundings. The interior of his home had always baffled her, even without being able to see it; she was well aware they stood within the untameable interior of a volcano, but yet here she heard the delicate trickle of water fountains, the hum of birds and insects somewhere in the distance. Just something else to make her feel a sense of unrest when by his side; there was no familiarity here, save for him.

It was how he made her depend on him.

“I’ve always been aware of that particular shortcoming,” she sighed, sliding her arm though his completely to rest her other hand on the crook of his elbow. “Even way back when, I suppose some part of me always assumed I was what kept us all together, all alive and well, simply because the rest of you would charge into battle as if on a crusade. Being the sensible one was always a burden of mine.”

“I can think of a few moments in time when you let the façade of _the sensible one_ crumple away a little,” he smirked in reply. “You liked to _think_ yourself incorruptible, dearest. But that doesn’t make you so.”

“Obviously.” She smiled slightly, reaching up to brush her hair behind her ear. “No one is above reproach, Chase, not even you. We’re all just trying to get by.”

“We _were_.” He glanced at her, raising an eyebrow at her unchanging expression. “You still are, perhaps, but I think I’ve overcome the little obstacle of _getting by_.”

She took a moment before replying, instead making a rather large show of turning her head this way and that, sightless gaze running over the features of his home. There was always the bitter burn of judgement with this woman; no matter how far you elevated yourself, something about her…managed to drag you right back down.

“We’re doomed to eternal life, Chase; all we’re ever going to do is _get by_.” She looked up at him, those milky, empty eyes somehow fixed perfectly on his own. “Whether or not it’s done in a mighty palace or a lowly temple hardly makes a difference. Each day is spent moving through to the next. Nothing more.”

He was silent as they walked, expression set in stone as they approached one of the fountains. The sound of water seemed to soothe her slightly, as she was soon comfortable enough to release her grip on his arm. He watched as she ran her palms over the smooth marble, a few drops of water splashing onto her skin. There was a small smile on her face as she moved to sit, perched gentle on the edge of the fountain. Resting her weight on her hands, she turned her eyes forwards, a small shift in her body language. There was almost a sadness about her now, the smile not quite reaching her eyes, the silence louder than her words before. He made no attempt to move, merely standing by her side with his hands hanging by his own, eyes on her as he waited for her next words.

“…Chase…”

“I know.”

She sighed deeply, moving her hands to her lap. She seemed defeated suddenly, as if all of the confidence she had when walking into his throne room had dissipated. But it was not a defeat that seemed to be one she would later regret; it was almost _grateful_ , grateful that his understanding merited no explanation on her part. Their… _bond_ , their _symbiosis_ , it truly had been a burden shouldered on her from such a young age. It had hurt her many times, and would hurt her many more, but for these rare instances where he could take this weight off of her shoulders…

Sometimes, the dreamer in her made her feel it was worth it.

“It’s bad,” she said softly, raising her head again to address the space in front of her. “You know it, too. I felt your fury the other day, felt your _rage_. You’ve bordered on pure apathy for so long, I must admit it…frightened me.”

“He was sealed away for over a millennium, Aeris. Don’t be so fast to forget that it was _your_ foolish children released him.”

“Yes.” So soft. “…But your rage was hardly directed at them, was it? How much easier it would be if this were simply a trial of your ego?” She smiled slightly, thumb pushing against the other. “…Do you know his endgame?”

“…” Again, that slight burn. She just had a habit of…dragging him back to her. To her _level_. He shot her a look that even he himself couldn’t figure out before he slowly took a seat by her side, sighing softly. “No. No, Aeris, and I never did. He’s always been chaotic, simply for the sake of being chaotic. No rules, no…regulations. Without honour or respect, all he ever wanted to do was…stir the pot. Make things _worse_. It didn’t have to be a vendetta against anyone or anything…sometimes he would burn cities just to watch the patterns in the smoke.” He closed his eyes and breathed deeply before glancing at her; she remained still, just sitting with her gaze locked ahead. “…You’re…not fooled by his current form, naturally.”

“I would imagine that would be one of the rare positives of being unable to behold it.” She gently brushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear before pausing a moment, finger and thumb on her earring. She twirled it for just a moment before glancing at him, hand dropping back into her lap.

“…I did see him before. Obviously, I could see back then. God, was I… _terrified_. I thought I’d seen evil before until that _very moment_ , thought I’d comprehended _all that there was to know_ of darkness. I’d seen spite, hatred, the need for vengeance against perceived wrongdoing…but it all seemed so petty at that time. None of it was real, not after seeing such a blatant personification of evil. So yes, my love. Whatever form he may be trapped in now, I’d imagine by your own doing…it will not fool, tempt, or sway me. I will not underestimate it nor cower from it. I came here today to ask your help in fighting it, in protecting everything I hold dear. And I know whilst you may not hold the same sentiment…please. He’s wronged you in the past, just as he tore my world away from me. And for his sins he was locked away from anything he could ruin until his inevitable return…” She took a deep breath and finally looked in his direction, brows furrowed slightly.

“You hate him as much as I, if not more! I’m asking you for your help, because I don’t have the strength to beat such evil alone! It hurt, it _hurt_ to look so far inside of myself to find a time when I was strong, and having to realise that I was always strongest by your side. I was always unbeatable, _unimpeachable_ , when you had my back, which is why you’re the only option. If he harms _anyone_ , _any_ of my charges, anyone I love _again_ , then I will no longer be a victim of circumstance. I will be _complicit_ , I will be _culpable_ …if I can’t stop him the second time around.”

He remained completely silent in the face of such an outburst of emotion from one usually so stoic, so calm, so untouched by hysteria. He simply sat there and held her gaze the entire time, allowing her moment, allowing her words. There was pain, it was evident, a pain he hadn’t heard in so very long. It almost made his chest ache if he was so inclined to such… _displays_. It almost made him want to cut her off, cease her words, stop the pain which would become accusation.

He, after all wasn’t free of guilt, wasn’t innocent of her pain.

Long had he been its catalyst, after all.

“…If that should come to pass…then it will be on my conscience, Chase.” His fists tightened slightly on his knees as she spoke again, her voice so soft it was almost claimed by the fountain behind them. “…And you gave me far too long a time…to be a slave to my conscience.”

She didn’t make a sound as he stood, didn’t even move as he took a few steps away. The silence was long, punctuated only by the trickling of water and far-off birdsong, both now with a distance between them but that which had always bound them still holding them close. And so it remained that way for some time, neither moving nor speaking until Chase finally turned, prompting her to raise her head slightly.

“…Know your enemy,” he said slowly, his voice hard, commanding, so far from how it had been moments ago. “If this is what you want, Aeris, then you first have to know the demon you face.”

She frowned and stood, hands hanging by her sides as her eyes narrowed.

“I know him _well_.”

“And I know him _better_.” He stepped forwards, eyes narrowing almost in a mimicry of her own. “He has strength. Physical enough. But never will he commit to harm without amusement; it’s all he cares about. He will get into your head, toy with you, rip you apart from the inside before taking it all outside. He plays with his food. And that’s what you, and your little monks, must be prepared for.”

“I don’t want them involved.”

“He will _make_ them involved to hurt you, and he will _want_ to hurt you, because that’s how he will hurt _me_.” The expression on her face was hard to ignore, but ignore her he did, simply pushing onwards as he fought not to think of it. “Because that’s how he has his fun, and from what I know of him, fun is all that really matters to him in the long term. Sick and twisted as it may be, he’s only seeking amusement, and unfortunately, you are _very_ amusing because you are _strength_ perceived as _weakness._ _Easily_ manipulated. Your emotions can be _twisted_ and then your _power_ can be _controlled_. You _hate_ that about yourself, Aeris, but it’s something you need to _accept_ and _overcome_ if you want to _ever_ stand a chance of keeping those you love safe. Know your _weakness_ as you know your _enemy_. Accept your _hatred_. Find the _balance_.”

“…You never-”

“And I never managed to do anything _more_ than lock him _up_ for a few centuries.” Those words were _snapped_ , his own reverie apparently stirring something within himself. “I’m _unbalanced,_ if those are the words you so desperately want to hear. I chose absolute power and I have _never_ regretted it. But to achieve that, I sacrificed my chance at balance and thus sacrificed my chance at…ridding myself of him alone.” He sighed and watched as her head tilted slightly, all signs of anger or indignance gone from her face. There was now only…understanding. A face that shown no malevolence, only the calm serenity he had always expected of her. How much time and turmoil had she gone through because of him? How much anger and rage and fury, how much hurt…only to come out of the other end… _kind?_ What kind of person could do that?

Only her, as it turned out.

“…Stay by my side,” he said at long last. “And I will…help you. Train you. Show you how he’s beaten, if indeed he _can_ be beaten. But I warn you _now_ that might not even be possible. The personification of _cruelty_ might always exist as long as _cruelty itself_ is prevalent in the world, and you and I both know that this… _pitiful_ species we call _humanity_ is _rife_ with it. But you’re right. You’re right in that I… _despise_ him and _what he stands for_ _almost_ as much as you do, only I have less at stake. I _will_ help you destroy him to protect the ones you love if _only_ you continue down this path knowing my reason for walking you down it, and still vow to continue.”

He could _see_ the doubt appear in her expression, almost taste the _trust_ , trust that was so _rarely built_ between them, evaporate into the air. There was hesitation, a taste like copper on his tongue, before she frowned, a soft sigh leaving her lips before she nodded slowly, a strand of hair coming loose and falling over her face.

“…Then tell me your reason.”

“…I will see you destroy him because I _want_ to see you destroy him.” His expression didn’t change at her frown, prompting him instead to step up to her, his hands going to her shoulders and holding them firmly. “Your underlying motives will mean nothing to me, Aeris. You can commit all manner of atrocities in the name of love, but the atrocity is what will remain. I want to see you _hurt_ , and I want to see you _destroy_. I want to see your hands rip something apart instead of putting it back together, and I’m going to see you, at last, _beautifully whole_ …and perfectly balanced. A little taste of evil is the price of my cooperation. Do you accept these terms?”

To be fair to her, if she felt any major shift in emotions, she didn’t show it. She remained beautifully unchanged, an homage to the marble pallor of her skin and hair, unmoved and unaffected. And so she remained, and so he remained, allowing her these few sacred moments to revise all that he had to offer, weigh options against themselves, see the consequences of her past actions or lack thereof. The _high road_ , her precious walk of life, was no longer on _offer_ in a situation such as this; it was now kill-or-be-killed, the motion of diplomacy removed from the table. She couldn’t talk her way out of this one.

Not this time.

“…” She took a slow breath before nodding, looking up at him as he removed his hands from her shoulders. She raised her hand, soft and small with fingers tipped with gently rounded nails, and he didn’t wait a moment before he took it in his own, holding it clasped firmly between them.

“Do _not_ enter this bargain lightly.”

“I haven’t.”

“…Say it.”

“…I accept these terms, such as you have offered them, Chase.” She sighed softly as she gripped his hand, closing her eyes as her head dipped slightly. “…I can’t stand by and watch it happen. Not this time. This time…I need you to show me how to fight, or…I could lose someone else. And end up making more bargains I will surely regret.”

“…Know your enemy.” She went to pull away, but his grip tightened on her fingers and she paused, brow raising as his thumb stroked over her knuckles. “…Whatever name you knew him by his dead and gone now. He’s preferred _Hannibal_ for the last dozen centuries, although I never _surely_ discovered _why_. But it will hold significance to him, that I’m sure of. Some kind of joke, probably. Some kind of sick reference known only to himself and some poor soul he wronged in the past.”

“…You believe there’s some power in his name?”

“There’s always been power in names, Ying Wen.” He smiled slightly as she frowned, still holding her hand tightly in his own and not allowing her to pull away. “For instance…a _contract_ is signed with a name. So I have ask…which of your many will you be using for this one in particular?

He had expected her to _wrench_ her hand from his grip, _stalk_ away, leave him smirking by the fountain _knowing_ in his heart that he now held her in a way that she could no longer refute. She had always been one to do so, to allow her emotions to get the better of her and then disregard them in a childish tantrum, seek solace and silence until the moment had passed. _Simple_ and _predictable_ , two of the things he’d _always_ enjoyed about her; he didn’t expect her fingers to tighten around _his_ to pull him _down_ , her lips soft and warm against his own. Had he been _physically_ taken aback, he might had stumbled away from such an unusual display of affection from her, but as it was…there was no thought. No _resistance_. Just _his_ _hand_ holding _hers_ as she decided the _best way_ to seal such a bargain was not with a _signature_ or _oath in blood…_ but with the lips used to speak every name she’d ever had.

When she pulled back only a few seconds, or maybe even minutes, later, his free hand had moved to her cheek, gloved thumb stroking over the soft skin. She turned her face slightly, just for a moment, to savour the feel of his palm against her cheek, before her fingers finally released his own. She could feel his eyes on her, a fleeting moment passing where she wished for nothing more but to be able to see them, before she gave a simple and single nod, bringing her hands back against her waist before clearing her throat slightly.

“…Alright, then,” she murmured. He either intentionally gave no reply or she gave no _opportunity_ for him to form one before she took a step backwards, her hand moving to push that stray strand of hair back behind her ear where it belonged. She refused to raise her head, allow him to meet her eyes again, electing instead to turn _away_ from him, back towards the fountain with her hands firmly in front of her. “…I will…return at sunrise, and pledge myself to whatever you choose to teach me. But you must understand that before that, I have affairs to see to, preparations to make. And I wouldn’t tell anyone, not a soul, of my intentions on returning here, but I’m sure you understand th-”

The space in which he stood was empty when she turned to face him again, the relentless trickling of water and birdsong once again filling the void he had left behind. She remained still for a moment, hands by her sides as she waited with little hope of sound breaking the silence, before taking a slow breath and closing her eyes once again. She took a moment, just a _moment_ , before she nodded firmly, dusting her front off before straightening her back and raising her head, moving forwards as though she were no more visually impaired than any other person in this world.

It was only when she was outside in the open air, retrieving her precious Tiger Claws from behind a rock outside the cavern entrance, that she allowed herself to slump against the stone, fingers on her lips alongside a gentle smile.

Such dire straits…

…which such a beautiful lining.


End file.
